1. Are good poets and writers born or made, in your opinion?
I believe a good writer has some latent skills such as observation and curiosity. Anyone can be taught the mechanics (i.e., grammar and spelling). The key is finding your voice, that expression which reaches readers. Your voice is your style which comes from your experiences.
2. How would you describe your writing style?
Eclectic, bold and raw, almost in the way of James Baldwin and Shange. I’m still the child who sees fascination in the details. I write about them and pull a reader into that whirlwind of visual delight.
3. Whose creative work has been the biggest influence for you?
As an avid reader, I can’t pinpoint a single person. I integrate historical references in work which I researched from certain historians. I tend to use authors such as the Egyptologist Dr. Ben Yochannan’s work. I have authors who I enjoy reading over and over like talking to an old friend. Then, there are those who I see as my spiritual guides and professors. I’ve created a weird dimension filled with guests called books. Creatively there’s no end.
4. What would it surprise others to know about you?
That’s a difficult question. I know, the N word really doesn’t bother me. It used to when I was a child. I was a attacked, stoned and shot at. Many incidents for a book by white youth. I guess my ears were just too big. But, their attacks, domestic terrorism hurt more than that word. When the white adults dismissed the terror as kids playing, that hurt. I don’t trip on the N word. I even use it. Not saying or using the word won’t end racism as some believe. The behavior has to change. To change the behavior the country has to stop praising the violent past. I’m concerned about the word picnic and its historical references. I’ve been picked too many times.
5. In your writing, are there any “taboo” topics you would not tackle?
If it’s a poem about a subject, which I’ve experienced, whether direct or indirect, I’d feel a need to write it. That happens a lot. If a publication wants me to write about a taboo topic, I’d approach it more objective as a viewer from the outside. Society tends to make the word taboo as a relative thing. What one person considers a taboo another believes it’s normal. I guess that word has to be clearly defined before I write about it. I’m working on a project now about men which might be seen as a taboo. I don’t, but some do and will. But that’s okay, these stories must be told.
6. What's the difference between “spoken word” and poetry?
I give up. I’ve asked other poets and poetry lovers. From what I interpret, some writers use the word “spoken word” to mean pieces which are different from the schooled style of poetry, such as the rhyme and scheme, historical styles, etc. In other words, a literary piece IS poetry if it has “these” academic characteristics. Anything outside that circle is something else -- spoken word. Well, guess what, black authors have fought and are “still” fighting, as well as other authors of color, for their own. Our style in some eyes, that is the dominant white culture, isn’t seen as real poetry. It’s something else. A lot has changed but when our expression is put equally text books with the European and White American literary experiences then we truly know that what we express is appreciated. Spoken word tends to be linked with a lot of performance art work as well. I just do what I do and write what I write. I can’t head trip which tribe to live in. I’ll let history decide once the maggots take me home what my work is defined as. I just want to be read and share my experiences to enrich lives with something.
7. What are you reading lately?
James Baldwin’s The Evidence of Things not Seen. It’s one of his books which slipped by me.
8. What inspires you?
Women, music, art, family, culture, history, depression, joy, spirituality, ancestors, the wind. Any moment which draws and pulls me in to forget myself. I get in this trance and begin to feels many things. Then I write. I must write. That’s the only way to stop the voices in my head.
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